Hello readers! No more hiatus for me! I'm back and ready to finish all of my stories! I promise I will not abandon my writing as I have in the past! Re-reading my previous chapters, I have realized that my writing has really come a long way and has improved greatly! I couldn't be happier! Thanks for sticking with me!

Chapter 10: Things Don't Always Have to Change, Do They?

I cannot face him any longer. I turn and begin to walk out of the room. My tears are hot like my face. My vision is blurred and I can hardly walk straight. I feel as if all of the air has been knocked out of me and that a part of my very soul has been sucked out of me. My heart is pounding so loudly that I cannot hear my footsteps on the limestone floors as I walk. Every fiber of my being wishes for Atem to come after me and grab me by my arm and tell me exactly what I want to hear. I march blindly towards to West corridor where I will turn and enter my chambers and never come out to face Atem, or the rest of the world again!

"Mana…" A soft, almost muffled voice calls my name. I do not slow down or stop. "Mana!" No, I can't turn around now. It's just too little too late and I have to keep going. Things cannot ever be the same as they were between us. We've changed. That little, innocent friendship we had as kids is no longer an option for us both, nor is it even acceptable anymore. I do not want Atemu as just my best friend. I need him as more than that because he means so much more than that. How can I go on staying here behind these palace walls knowing that I love him more than he could ever love me? How am I supposed to face him every single day with a smile when my heart is so broken and only his love can repair it? "Mana, please! Come back here." His baritone voice sends a chill up the back of my neck. He has such a spell on me that it sickens me. Everything about him is intoxicating and I have grown delusional with the thought of having him to myself in a romantic manner. Why is it never enough for me? Why couldn't I just be happy with the friendship that we shared? "Mana, please. Do not just walk away. Turn around, talk to me, please, Mana." My heart twinges. I feel ashamed and guilty for being so haste and leaving the way I did.

Suddenly, a warm hand grabs ahold of mine. I stop dead in my tracks and feel afraid to face the man who is holding so much more than my hand. I swallow hard and clench shut my eyes. A final tear falls and hits my chest after rolling down my cheek. My face is flushed and I feel as if I am on fire. I know how badly I look at this moment. I am aware of what water does to kohl make-up liner. I imagine the wet, and dirty tear tracks on my face and neckline and for the first time in a while, I do not care about my appearance. Every ounce of self-control is keeping me from whipping around and kissing the soon to be King that stands behind me. I can feel my breathing become ragged and my body begins to shake.

"Mana…I...Ummm…." He's stuttering? This is unusual. "…I'm sorry…" He drops my hand. I let it fall to the side of my waist. I want to say something. I should say something. I have to say something.

"No," I say calmly. "I am the one who must apologize. My behavior has been – "

Before I can finish my sentence, strong arms spin me around and embrace me. I feel so warm. I do not think I have ever felt such heat before. My face is pressed close to Atem's tight chest. I can hear his heart beating rapidly and can feel his shallow breaths. Ra, he smells so wonderful and clean. His masculine scent drives my hormones to the edge of my very being! I am tempted to look up at him and kiss his luscious lips. I wish to be enveloped by him and surrounded by his body and soul. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. I want this moment, right here, right now, to last forever. I could stay in his arms for all of eternity. "Mana," Atem's chest vibrates slightly as he speaks. "I am sorry that I made you feel the way I did. I never meant to hurt you or belittle you. I was only trying to help…" he clears his throat and the sound echoes through his body and makes my ears ring a little. "This isn't easy for me…growing up, especially with everything changing and everyone making a huge damn deal about it." He sighs and runs his slender fingers through my hair. "I should never take out my frustrations on you, not when you mean so much to me." I pull away from his comforting embrace slowly and look at him. His eyes hold a solemn hue and his tan skin has a pink tint. He's blushing. "Oh, Mana, I did not have any intentions of making you upset and I am so so– "

For whatever the reason, I feel impelled to apologize as well for what I have done. "No. I am sorry, Atemu." I cannot allow myself to tell him the truth of why I am sorry. I cannot blurt out my secret love for him.

Atem gives me a small smile. He leans in and kisses my forehead. I cannot control my lip from quivering, I just hope he does not notice. He does not. "There is no need for apologizes, Mana." Gently, he wipes my cheek, attempting to clean my stained face, I assume. "We are close friends and have been so for years now. There is no reason to keep things from one another and act any differently. Things are going to change, Mana." He chuckles half-heartedly. "Hell, they already are! But, nothing will change us. I promise."

A smile spreads across my lips and at this point, I realize I must look like a little girl who was playing in the Nile and had smeared mud and clay all over her face. I no longer care. I want to leap into his loving arms once more. I feel the urgency to be embraced and kissed all over. I am so anxious that I feel my body grow impatient. I yearn to be his so intensely that it should be deemed criminal. No person should want another this way.

"How about we get something to eat together?" Atem says to me and holds out his hand.

"Oh, yes." I reply happily. "I would love that."

"But, uh, Mana…" He makes a strange face before winking at me, "first wipe off all of that gunk that's covering your pretty face." His cheeks are still a little pink, but I know that mine must be scarlet red. I will take any compliment I can get from Atem. After all, it isn't every day that a girls' best friend is the new Pharaoh. I'll be grateful for the relationship we share, even if it is never anything more than a close knit friendship that survived the struggles of adolescence and adulthood. Atem's right. Things may change around us, but we do not have to change the way that we feel for one another…even if one of us is madly in love with the other.

Breakfast was enchanting. Everything with Atem seems to be that way, though, so it does not surprise me one bit. I am so infatuated with him. Everything about him takes over my very soul and being. "What do you want to do today?" I ask before taking a sip of my hot, hibiscus tea. I've sweetened it with honey and sugar from a sugar cane. I am not much of a coffee fan, but Atem is. He loves his coffee and I love the way he drinks it. There's something so alluring about the way he swirls in his cream and honey. He has such a sweet tooth. Sometimes, I feel as if he prefers his coffee more cream and sugar than actual coffee! He drinks slowly and appears to be thinking deeply.

"Well, Isis and the other members of the royal court are swamped with work for my coronation ceremony. I've constructed a list of items and food and drinks for the whole big celebration, but I hate having others wait on me hand and foot and taking care of everything for me." He raises his mug to his lips and swallows. "And I know that is the way things are, but I enjoy getting out of the palace once in a while and feeling self-sufficient."

I nod my head in agreement. "Yes. I know what you mean." And I do. It bothers me seeing other women take care of Atem. He's a very independent person and always has been. I can see how annoyed he grows when the servants are constantly fluttering around him and aiming to please. They are always drawing his bath for him, or cutting his meals for him and they invade his privacy. All of this is normal for a King, but Atemu does not prefer it. He is conserved and likes to keep to himself. He does not approve of others watching him change his attire or bathe himself. "I do need a new ensemble for your special day!" I smile and lower my cup onto the table. I carefully rip off a piece of bread from the plate where it sits in the middle of us. I love how we're dining together just like we once did when we were children. Those really were the days. We were young and free…well, as free as one can be when one is living inside the palace. Behind these limestone walls we've sure had some good times. Atemu, Seto, Isis, Mahad, and I were all so full of life before, and now it seems that we are lacking. Our lives are filled with the chaos of being here in the palace, and adhering to schedules and routines. Speaking of which, I really have been slacking on my spells and falling behind with my magic. I suppose after Atem's monumental day I'll have to get back to all of that. After all, I'll soon be his sorceress, and his alone.

Atem pushes his plate away from him and rises from his chair. "Let us venture into town then." He says with a smile that practically causes me to melt and swoon.

I smile back. It sounds like such a wonderful time; the soon to be Pharaoh and I walking amongst the crowds of people at the baazar and markets. I feel giddy like a child with excitement and can hardly wait to get going!